NATO peacekeeping soldiers formed security cordons around four town halls in Kosovo on Monday to keep back Serbs protesting at ethnic Albanian mayors taking office in a Serb majority area after elections they boycotted.
In Zvecan, one of the towns, Kosovo state police - staffed entirely by ethnic Albanians after all Serbs quit the force last year - sprayed pepper gas to repel a crowd of Serbs who broke through a security barricade and tried to force their way into the municipality building, witnesses said.
"In line with its mandate, KFOR is ready to take all necessary actions to ensure a safe environment in a neutral and impartial manner," it said, adding that KFOR's commander was in close contact with the security organs of Kosovo and Serbia. Ethnic Albanians make up more than 90% of the population in Kosovo as a whole, but northern Serbs demand the implementation of a decade-old EU-brokered deal for the creation of an association of autonomous municipalities in their area.
The United States and its allies, who have strongly backed Kosovo's independence, rebuked Pristina on Friday for escalating tensions with Serbia, saying the use of force to install mayors in majority Serb areas undercut efforts to normalise relations.
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